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It's not as simple as "just use IRC". Even in cases where an IRC channel is both available and relatively well-promoted, some communities still seek out other t

It's not as simple as "just use IRC". Even in cases where an IRC channel is both available and relatively well-promoted, some communities still seek out other tools. The first example that comes to mind is Reactiflux, a rather large React.js community that recently moved from Slack to Discord[1][2], another closed source app that will probably stay that way[3]. To me, the fact that a community of tech-savvy developers won't use IRC exclusively is a pretty good indication that IRC is not enough. [1] https://facebook.github.io/react/blog/2015/10/19/reactiflux-is-moving-to-discord.html https://facebook.github.io/react/blog/2015/10/19/reactiflux-... [2] https://github.com/reactiflux/volunteers/issues/25 https://github.com/reactiflux/volunteers/issues/25 [3] https://twitter.com/discordapp/status/648379244570013696 https://twitter.com/discordapp/status/648379244570013696

vjeux 11y ago
For context, we've always promoted IRC for real time communication on React. I encouraged people to setup other mediums for communication and many people attempted but only one took off: Reactiflux on Slack. The official way is still IRC on the website but most people are using Reactiflux which is pretty incredible. Now, we got the bad news a month ago that we've been kicked off of Slack :( So, I started looking at all the options and frankly, all the alternatives I tried had a really bad user experience. Sure, they had all the features of Slack but the polish was not there. Until I randomly stumbled upon Discord, a chat app for gamers. It turns out that it does everything that we used Slack for, has better perf than Slack... Before we even made the switch officially, people were already using it organically in favor of Slack which is a testament of its qualities. I highly recommend using Discord for your open source project!
- peterjmag 11y ago
  Hi Christopher! :) Thanks for expanding. To clarify, I didn't mean to imply that moving to another closed source solution was the wrong decision. In fact, Discord seems like a great tool for the job. I just wanted to use the migration as an example of how/why some groups don't switch "back" to IRC or other open source solutions, because their needs are better met by something proprietary. I'm a big proponent of open source, but I'm also all for using the right tools, whether that means open, closed, or some combination of the two.
- mbrock 11y ago
  Why'd you get kicked from Slack?
  - vjeux 11y ago
    We received the following email from someone at Slack: "I’m writing to inform you that we've disabled the ability to add more users to the Reactiflux Slack team. We're happy that you've found Slack to be a great platform for your community but from both an administrative and performance perspective this is proving to be unsustainable. Although we do simple chat and file-sharing very well, Slack simply isn’t designed for communities of thousands of users to chat. Slack's ideally designed for teams of coworkers who collaborate closely and frequently to get work done. That said, looking into ways to better support communities like yours in the future is something that has been suggested many times! The idea is under consideration, and if changes are implemented to make this easier in the future, we'll be sure to get the word out. I’m not sure how you’re sending out your invites, because if you’re using the web interface it should tell you that your maximum user limit was reached. If you’re using the undocumented API, we’re returning a user_limit_reached error that you'll run into soon. If you do want to continue to use Slack to manage this community, I'd recommend you spin up multiple smaller teams and cap each one around no more than 1,000 users. Once one team fills up, stop inviting people to that team and start a new one for the next group of people who want to join your community. That's the best way to ensure that your teams remain manageable and that the service stays nice and snappy for you. Thanks so much for your understanding. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop us a line!"
- emp_ 11y ago
  It also seems the Discord web client is built on React, which is oddly satisfying. Having trouble finding more info on their stack.
  - vjeux 11y ago
    "@discordapp: @DenisIzmaylov Our backend is a mix of Python+Elixir/Erlang+C++ depending on which piece of the infrastructure. @discordapp: @DenisIzmaylov do you mean our encryption? If so, it varies by which version of DIscord you use. TLS, DTLS, and xsalsa20. @discordapp: @DenisIzmaylov TokuMX and Redis, moving some things to Cassandra" https://twitter.com/denisizmaylov/status/656181143205773313 https://twitter.com/denisizmaylov/status/656181143205773313

vjeux 11y ago

For context, we've always promoted IRC for real time communication on React. I encouraged people to setup other mediums for communication and many people attempted but only one took off: Reactiflux on Slack. The official way is still IRC on the website but most people are using Reactiflux which is pretty incredible. Now, we got the bad news a month ago that we've been kicked off of Slack :( So, I started looking at all the options and frankly, all the alternatives I tried had a really bad user experience. Sure, they had all the features of Slack but the polish was not there. Until I randomly stumbled upon Discord, a chat app for gamers. It turns out that it does everything that we used Slack for, has better perf than Slack... Before we even made the switch officially, people were already using it organically in favor of Slack which is a testament of its qualities. I highly recommend using Discord for your open source project!

peterjmag 11y ago
Hi Christopher! :) Thanks for expanding. To clarify, I didn't mean to imply that moving to another closed source solution was the wrong decision. In fact, Discord seems like a great tool for the job. I just wanted to use the migration as an example of how/why some groups don't switch "back" to IRC or other open source solutions, because their needs are better met by something proprietary. I'm a big proponent of open source, but I'm also all for using the right tools, whether that means open, closed, or some combination of the two.
mbrock 11y ago
Why'd you get kicked from Slack?
- vjeux 11y ago
  We received the following email from someone at Slack: "I’m writing to inform you that we've disabled the ability to add more users to the Reactiflux Slack team. We're happy that you've found Slack to be a great platform for your community but from both an administrative and performance perspective this is proving to be unsustainable. Although we do simple chat and file-sharing very well, Slack simply isn’t designed for communities of thousands of users to chat. Slack's ideally designed for teams of coworkers who collaborate closely and frequently to get work done. That said, looking into ways to better support communities like yours in the future is something that has been suggested many times! The idea is under consideration, and if changes are implemented to make this easier in the future, we'll be sure to get the word out. I’m not sure how you’re sending out your invites, because if you’re using the web interface it should tell you that your maximum user limit was reached. If you’re using the undocumented API, we’re returning a user_limit_reached error that you'll run into soon. If you do want to continue to use Slack to manage this community, I'd recommend you spin up multiple smaller teams and cap each one around no more than 1,000 users. Once one team fills up, stop inviting people to that team and start a new one for the next group of people who want to join your community. That's the best way to ensure that your teams remain manageable and that the service stays nice and snappy for you. Thanks so much for your understanding. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop us a line!"
emp_ 11y ago
It also seems the Discord web client is built on React, which is oddly satisfying. Having trouble finding more info on their stack.
- vjeux 11y ago
  "@discordapp: @DenisIzmaylov Our backend is a mix of Python+Elixir/Erlang+C++ depending on which piece of the infrastructure. @discordapp: @DenisIzmaylov do you mean our encryption? If so, it varies by which version of DIscord you use. TLS, DTLS, and xsalsa20. @discordapp: @DenisIzmaylov TokuMX and Redis, moving some things to Cassandra" https://twitter.com/denisizmaylov/status/656181143205773313 https://twitter.com/denisizmaylov/status/656181143205773313